Hub City, Day 1
Ted Kord was gonna die.
It was inevitable, Ted just didn't know how soon it was going to happen. For all Mister Kord knew, he could die in his sleep, fifty years from now. He could find himself getting shot through the skull a few months into the future, or he could accidentally slip out of his Seventy Million Dollar, Bug shaped aircraft, and break his neck on the filthy streets of Hub City, remembered not as a mild-mannered billionaire who tried to help the city, but as a weirdo who died wearing a beetle suit.
Any of those options were possible. Right now the latter was most likely.
The Bug, as Ted had taken to calling it, handled like a dream, hovering silently through the night air, unnoticed by the citizens below, all thanks to the prototype engine humming in the craft's belly, with the craft equipped with enough weapons to put a hole in the side of a mountain, all costing enough money to bankrupt a small country. Ted's suit hadn't been cheap either, it was an ugly thing, a skin tight outfit that unfortunately didn't hide Ted's flab, but made up for it by being loaded with enough tricks and gadgets to make a Swiss Army Knife blush. The gloves were fitted with lock picks, boot soles fitted with an untraceable cell phone for emergencies, a utility belt filled with smoke bombs... and then there was the mask. No expense had been spared, it had been fitted with large, golden eye frames, and was able to quickly connect Ted to the Media, Internet and even offer remote control of the Bug. It was all perfectly crafted, every single tool hand picked and funneled through several subsidiary companies to ensure nothing got traced back to its new owner.
The tech was ready. Now it was just waiting for the man to use it.
The metal hatch by Ted's feet whooshed open, releasing a blast of freezing air, into the warm, yellow light of the Bug's interior, the hole in the floor revealing the dark sky below. It was the darkest evening that Ted had ever seen, so dark in fact, that the man couldn't even see the buildings standing just a few feet below. Letting out a gulp, Ted turned on his mask's night vision, and felt slightly more confident when the streets lit up with a mix of black and green. Despite this, Ted gulped, and as a metal rod descended from the Bug's ceiling, he was reminded of the nerves he'd had when getting his test results back in High School. He reached forward and gripped the rod, a safety line for his descent, it provided no comfort, and Ted took a deep breath.
"Maybe I should have just used the scarab." He mumbled to himself, body physically shaking as he began to consider the likely hood of his equipment malfunctioning, and ending up as street pizza.
Everything had been tested, adjusted and tested again. So, as Ted reminded himself, he was the only thing holding back. The billionaire took another look down at the rooftops, and was ready to to turn around and go home, when he remembered the promise he'd made. It had been to Dan Garret, as he lay dying, and remembering the man's sacrifice, Ted found the courage that Dan must have had on that fateful day. The man had died a hero. People had called him the Blue Beetle, and soon... hopefully, they'd know Ted by the same name.
He stepped forward and fell through the hatch, metal rod descending in his hands as the streets rose up. Ted shut his eyes, stomach lurching as he fell through the air, but he finally opened them once the rod stopped, and he was left dangling in the air, like a puppet tangled in strings. Deciding to swing to the nearest rooftop, Ted thrust himself forward, letting go of the safety rod, and pulling off a nifty somersault part way through his jump before rolling expertly onto the rooftop and breaking into a sprint, years of Advanced Gymnastics finally paying off.
The Bug stayed still, hovering quietly like some sort of ghoul next to the building, casting searchlights in all directions. Ted clicked his car keys towards the craft, and it automatically began to lock up, protected from any curious civilians gathering below. Satisfied with his security, Hub City's newest hero pulled the grapple gun from his belt and quickly zipped up to a nearby building, a huge grin plastered across his face the whole time as he forgot about how scared he'd been mere moments ago.
"Ohmigod this is SO cool!" He yelled, clinging to a gargoyle as he paused to catch his breath. Then something caught Ted's eye, from his vantage point he caught sight of a young woman being pulled into a nearby alleyway and disappearing into the shadows, not even a scream escaping her lips as a hand covered her mouth. With a mindset of pure bravery, Ted began to move towards the alley, maneuvering across the rooftops like a ballet dancer moving across the dance floor, only stopping when he was overlooking the source of the disturbance. A woman in her mid twenties who Ted recognized from the Big Belly Burger by his penthouse, was surrounded by a trio of thugs, members of the 100 Gang judging from their single piece, blood red outfits and masks. Ted grinned at the thought of action, not bothering to think about their intent, and dropped from the roof like a stone, planning to land on the fire escape below and make a dramatic entrance.
Unfortunately that's not what happened.
Ted did indeed land upon the fire escape, but it collapsed under his weight and turned the planned dramatic entrance into a rather stupid one, as Ted face planted the ground and everything suddenly went black, despite the night vision mode still active on his goggles. Not a lot of time must have passed though, as when Ted woke up he was being stared at by the gang members, who didn't seem to have moved.
"Uh... hi." He groaned, face aching as he got back up to his feet and stretched his arms to click his spine back into place. "Sorry about that." The gang members looked confused, each one a different size and weight, and all of them holding knives, Ted definitely noticed the eyes, despite the concussion that was blurring his vision.
"Who's this guy, Charlie?" One of the 100 asked, all of them starting to turn towards the strange target that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "It ain't Batman is it?"
"Just some freak, Tony." Charlie sighed, butcher's knife shifting in his hands as they began to approach. "Just some freak in tights."
"Slice and dice." The third 100 member sniggered as they began to spread throughout the alley, their original target watching in silent horror from the alley entrance, as Ted found himself cornered against a dead end.
"Slice and dice..." Ted repeated as he took action. He blinked, and then he moved, scooping up a nearby, unused bin and using it as a shield as Charlie of the 100 thrust his knife through the air, metal meeting metal as the knife stabbed into the side of the bin. Not willing to wait, Ted slammed the bin into Charlie's head, before tossing it aside and ducking beneath a quick slash aimed towards his head. Crouched on the ground. Ted smashed Tommy of the 100 in the crotch with one hand before sweeping him off his feet with the other, before kicking the third member in the face with his boot.
The 100 fell to the ground at the same time, and Ted stood back up, breathing heavily from the unexpected physical exertion. He made a note to try and work on some sort of crowd control gadget... something that would make things easier, and then he remembered the girl he'd tried to save.
"Hey!" He yelled, waving to the startled woman shivering by the alley exit, hands covering her mouth, and eyes seemingly locked onto the Beetle symbol on Ted's chest. "Are you alright?" He asked while walking over.
"You... you helped me." She muttered, hands moving from her face as she began to calm down. "Th... thank you."
"Don't mention it!" Ted said, struggling to hide his smile as pride began to swell up in his chest. "I'm just doing my job." That was a lie. Everything Ted said was a lie. He wasn't just doing his job, this was the greatest thing ever done by a mortal man. He was the Hercules of a new generation, Earth's greatest champion... and this woman was going to have to tell everyone about it.
"Who are you?"
Ted just wished he'd chosen a cooler name.
"Well." The smile faded as the nerves began to return. Ted placed his hands on his hips like he'd practiced when posing in the mirror all these long months, he remembered the speech he'd been rehearsing, and he began to speak, unaware of the radio playing nearby that was about to ruin everything.
"I guess you could say I'm Hub City's last hope. Hub City's first superhero in years! I'm a hero! I'm a champion to all! But you can call me, B-"
"Booster Gold!"
A dumbfounded look hit Ted's face as he found himself being interrupted. He looked up to a nearby window where the radio was coming from, and then looked back at the girl he was busy harassing.
"I'm... I'm Blue Beetle." He muttered, quickly moving to the window and peering through.
"Hub City's first superhero in years! Booster Gold, as the man calls himself, was just caught on live television thwarting a bank robbery being performed by the Royal Flush Gang! Taking out the villains in a quick... and dare I say, dashing manner!"
Ted felt his heart shatter in two.
"What the f-"
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